Back to School!

I'm feeling guilty about this post, but I'll just have to push through it because I'd much rather write about my Intro to Digital Sound class than put the effort into writing about what Vince Vaughn does between takes and how Ron Howard surprised me. Sorry guys, but I need a bit of self-indulgence tonight, so Digital Sound is for me.

It was great, really. I got there early. I got filled in on last week's assignment. NONE! Yeah! I do have to look up a man named, Tom Dowd, on YouTube, but other than that; nothing.

Our instructor goes very quickly once he gets going. Thank God, he had a great Power Point presentation on the Science of Sound because it helped me take notes. I really wasn't expecting a Science lesson to kick things off, but it was interesting. I can see how it is an important part of our training. We got refamiliarized with how our ears work and waveform -vs- sine waves. We also got a great bit of education about a Sound Pioneer named, John Cage. He pioneered making music using noise. Technically speaking, there are two kinds of sound; music and noise. Music is structured and has rules. Noise is everything else. I didn't know that before. I learned a lot today.

We started our first assignment today, too. We went to six separate locations and listened for five minutes noting all the different sounds we heard and what they sounded like. This was more difficult and more enjoyable than I'd imagined it would be. I picked a quiet outdoor setting (The Military Memorial), a crowded outdoor setting (The Picnic area right outside the main lobby of the school), a crowded indoor area (The Main Lobby with Water Fountains), a slightly busy and rather embarrassing location (The Womens Restroom right off the Main Lobby), a quiet indoor setting (Empty Lecture Hall A162), and a completely secluded indoor location (The Second Floor Stairwell outside A162). The hardest parts of the assignment was finding descriptive words for the various sounds because we were to write what a plane flying overhead sounded like, not just write "a plane flying overhead." Well, analizing sounds for tone, volume, tenor, etc. is something that I have very little experience with. I did my best.

After we had spent 30-45 minutes out in the school noting all the sounds that we heard, we were to return to the classroom and write up six paragraphs about our experience in each location. I got back relatively early and started typing pretty quickly. I was the fourth person to return to the classroom, not that it really matters. When the instructor told us that we had fifteen minutes to finish up our paragraphs, I was only on #3; so I correctly imagined that most of the class that had arrived after me was probably not as far as I was. As a result, I laughed one of those, "Yeah Right" laughs and got in trouble for it. Yep. First day of class for me and already got in trouble. The instructor sternly said, "It's not funny." Well, I thought it was funny, so :P. In any case, I kicked it into high gear, cut my descriptions for my last three paragraphs in half and made the fifteen minute deadline. Whew.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I'M SO GLAD I'VE BEEN BLOGGING!!!!! I can think quickly and write it all down just as quickly. Whew! I had no idea that my self-imposed exercise would prove to be so valuable. Really. I didn't. Here's a HUGE SHOUT OUT to me and my goofy ideas that seem to pay off sometimes. :D

For the last fifteen minutes of the class, the instructor gave a Mac Basics lesson for those who have not used Mac before. I kinda listened since I have used Mac before. He did not get to the Soundtrack Pro 2 software lesson that he had planned on, so we didn't start the third part of this assignment which is to take our three favorite paragraphs and turn them into something using Soundtrack Pro 2. This worries me, but he did his best to reassure me that there would be plenty of time between September 13th when our next class meets and September 20th when the assignment is due. We have no homework until then. I'm still worried, so I'll see what I can figure out before then. BB has Soundtrack Pro 2 on his Mac, so we'll see if I can get a voucher from Financial Aid for books and get going on my own.

I also apologized for offending him with my laughter and tried to explain that I laugh. He replied, "Oh. An impulse thing." Hmmmmm. Computer people. Well, maybe it is an impulse thing, but I like to laugh, need to laugh, and will probably hold my laughter until I've proven myself to him. I annoyed him earlier in class when I contradicted him regarding brain cells regenerating, too. It was when he asked for comments about our experiences that I knew that he was starting to dislike me, though. I commented that my experience in the stairwell was annoying. He was displeased, so I explained that it was loud and hurt my ears. He thought the sounds of the ventilation system and whatever was buzzing and rattling sounded cool. I responded that it made my ears ring even more than they usually do thinking that he would relate because he has Tinnitus, too. He was unsympathetic. This is why I apologized. I can't have him forming negative opinions about me already, can I? I like his pacing and educational style. Gees. I think I did a bit of good damage control. I'll keep the spin on for a while and see how it goes.

My next class is Scriptwriting on Wednesday night. I have to get to the school library, look at the Art Gallery there, pick a painting, and come up with a premise for a story based on how that painting moves me. I also have to read a script and watch the show or movie that script is about before class on Wednesday night; so that, I can discuss it. BB has the script for "Little Miss Sunshine", and we own the movie. If I can find the script for "JFK" that Oliver Stone sent me, I'll watch the "JFK" DVD that BB got for me at the library today. I'm hoping that I find it, so maybe I'll head to the basement now to look. Maybe I'll look in the office first. Maybe I'll be wise and just use the "Little Miss Sunshine" script and movie since they're both sitting right beside me. It is a time to use my time wisely, afterall.

So that's school. I like being in school. I like doing this technical, intellectual, focused brain work. It makes me happy. I just wish that what I'm really interested in getting my Masters in was more marketable. I'm still hooked on Film, Television and Theatre - probably societal value and history aspects of it all. We'll see what happens when I do some more research on this. In the meantime, I'm planning on at least one more semester at this school because I'm gunning for Final Cut Pro to wrap up a documentary I shot in 2003. I don't think I'll really rest until I've finished that project.

OK, take care. I'm off to veg. BB picked up "500 Days of Summer" for me starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. I've been wanting to see it for a long, long time - AND NOW - I'm treating me again - BECAUSE - tomorrow is another long, long day.

Sweet Dreams!